


it's a feeling.

by AquaFlowerBee



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Child Abuse, Multi, Not Beta Read, Not a writer, did i mention im not a writer?, diego wants to be a dad, diego's a dad, five may not have powers but hes still a sassy boy, i change fandoms like i change underwear, i want diego to be fives dad, insecure five, mainly for my enjoyment, reginald hargreeves is a shit father even in an au verse, this has been in my head all month, trigger warning for abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaFlowerBee/pseuds/AquaFlowerBee
Summary: In an alternate universe where none of them have powers.Diego wants to adopt a child, like Grace did for them, he goes looking for a newborn but he meets a young 12-year-old boy named Five and there's just something about him that draws Diego in.but Five has a past.Will Diego adopt Five or will he find him too damaged and too much to handle?
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Everyone, Diego Hargreeves & Grace Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Allison Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Ben Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Luther Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Reginald Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 42
Kudos: 174





	1. Chapter one: telling the family

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea after I read a fic about Allison pretending to be Five's mom in the 60s I can't find it but if I do I'll link it because it's really good. 
> 
> anyway disclaimer: I'm not a writer! this is purely because I needed to get it out of my head and on to a page so the writing is subpar at best lol, I do hope you enjoy it even just a little bit though, its also not been beta read so things might be spelt wrong or the wrong grammar I apologize in advance! 
> 
> ALSO, this is based on personal knowledge of adoption and foster care so if you personally think it's inaccurate it might be because we've had different experiences with it, I know weird that people can have different experiences of the same thing right?!
> 
> ENJOY!

Chapter one.

“I want to adopt a baby,” Diego said to his shocked faced siblings and mother, he had planned to tell them all individually and then collectively after doing so, but they had all shown up at their mother's house for a spontaneous Friday night home-cooked meal and he just blurted it out to them all during the after-dinner drinks they were all having in the sizeable lounge room.

“You want to do what now?” Luther asked, clearing up that he heard Diego correctly.

“I want to adopt a baby,” Diego repeated coolly standing up from where he was seated between their mother and Allison and walked over to the fireplace directly in front of them all.

“A human baby?” Ben asked.

“Why?” Klaus asked.

“Are you sure?” Allison aked.

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” Vanya added after all the other siblings' questions were thrown at Diego.

Diego sighed he knew this is was exactly how his siblings would react it's why he planned to tell them one at a time so that he wasn't bombarded by hundreds of questions from the five of them “Yes a human baby, yes I’m sure, I know it's a huge responsibility and I want to because I’m 35 years old and I’ve always wanted a child and who says I need a wife to do so? Plus I want to adopt and give a kid a great life just like mom did for all of us” 

“Well, I think it's wonderful!” Grace added smiling at Diego “you definitely have a natural parenting instinct so I know you'll be a great parent.” she finished walking up to Diego and embracing him in a gentle motherly hug. 

“Thanks, mom,” Diego said, returning the hug immediately. 

The rest of the siblings all looked at each other not knowing what to say, Allison decided to take it upon herself considering none of her other siblings were willing to open their mouths and say something to their brother.

“Well, that's great then,” Allison said “right guys?” she looked at her other four siblings who all nodded with quickly added “yeah of course” 

Diego stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say “Yeah ok, well, I have an appointment at the adoption center called ‘Umbrella Kids’ tomorrow afternoon, they apparently have the biggest baby nursery so that gives me more of a chance” Diego explained.

“Wait tomorrow?” Ben asked, shocked “How long have you been thinking about adopting for?”

Sighing Diego sat back down on the couch knowing that this was going to be a long night filled with a lot of questions.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a little over a year now,” Diego answered.

Klaus sat up straight in his seat and placed his almost empty glass of vodka on the coffee table next to him “You’ve been thinking about adopting for over a year and this is the first time we’re all hearing about it? I'm hurt!” he finished his sentence by grabbing his chest dramatically.

“I didn't want to bring it up earlier when I was only 99% sure I wanted to adopt I wanted to wait until I was 100% sure” 

“And that's what you are?” Vanya asked quietly “100% sure?” 

Diego’s dark brown eyes met Vanya’s equally dark brown eyes “I’ve never been so sure about something in my life” 

Vanya smiled at him genuinely “I can’t wait this will be my second time being an aunt!” 

That made Diego smile back at her, he was glad one of his siblings was at least warming up to the idea. 

“This will be my first time being an aunt,” Allison said getting into the idea “it's about time honestly and Claire would be so excited to hear she’s finally getting a cousin” 

“And you know we’re all here to help,” Klaus added, taking a sip of his drink.

“What exactly are you going to help with Klaus?” Ben asked “getting the kid alcohol” 

“Yeah, I’ll buy you some drinks when it's older,” Klaus said sincerely.

“KLAUS!” Allison yelled at him and then averted her eyes back to Diego again “But we are here to help Diego, the baby phase is hard but you won't be alone during it, not when you have us anyway” 

“Thanks guys,” Diego said smiling at them all, happy that they’re all being supportive, even Luther who hadn’t said much but didn't need to since his face was an open book, Diego could tell from his agreeable nods to his facial expressions that he was supporting the idea. 

The grandfather clock in the living room rang out indicating to them all that it was 12am, Ben was the first to stand up and announce that he needed to get home, followed by Allison and Vanya and then Luther offered Klaus a ride home so all that was left in the house was Grace and Diego. 

“Are you nervous?” Grace asked as they cleaned up all the glasses from that night. 

“A little bit I guess,” Diego started “How do you even choose a baby? Don't they all look and act the same?” he asked, genuinely confused.

They walked into the kitchen and placed the empty glasses in the sink.

“Well, I think you just know which is your child when you see them” Grace explained “You get this feeling when you lay eyes on them and it's like you’ve known that they are supposed to be yours forever, trust me you’ll know as soon as you see them”

Diego nodded thoughtfully, it made sense to a degree but now he was worried he wouldn’t get that feeling with any of the babies he was scheduled to see tomorrow afternoon. He helped Grace wash and dry the dishes before he left to go home and hopefully get some sleep.

“Come by tomorrow for dinner again and I'll make sure we’re all here, I know everyone will be extremely eager to hear how it went at the agency,” Grace said hugging Diego one last time.

“I will mom, thanks” He replied and got into his car to drive home.

_

When he arrived home, he walked in, threw his jacket on the couch and switched on the lights, he looked around the small house, his house wasn't huge it had a small kitchen and dining room and a medium-sized lounge room and then upstairs held two bedrooms and a bathroom. As he stood and looked around the room he noticed all the things he would need to baby proof he automatically started to notice all the sharp edges in his house.

‘Should I just get rid of all the furniture?’ he thought to himself.

He shook his head. He was too tired to be thinking about this now and he needed to be on his A-game tomorrow to impress the agency that was about to hopefully give him his very first son or daughter.


	2. Chapter two: the appointment.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for Diego's appointment to hopefully meet his future child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad a lot of you guys liked the first chapter, I hope it carries over into this next chapter, I'm thinking maybe I'll post a chapter every five days? keeping it on theme with the number five. hopefully, I can keep that momentum but we will see. ENJOY my preciouses

Diego woke up to his phone alarm screeching on his bedside table, he moaned and rolled over and reached an arm out to grab the noisy phone, he swiped the alarm off and stretched, he sat up and looked at his phone and saw he had multiple text messages from his family.

Luther: Goodluck this afternoon bro.

Mom: I’m so proud of you and just remember what I said last night, you’ll know when you see them. 

Ben: Goodluck today! Can't wait to hear all about it at dinner :D

Allison: I need all the details tonight don't leave anything out when you tell me! 

Klaus: If there’s a choice can I vote for a nephew? haha

Vanya: Have fun today :) you're going to make a great dad I just know it.

All of the messages made Diego smile, it was just what he needed to boost his confidence and settle the nerves that had begun to kick in the more he thought about his appointment that afternoon. He sent them all replies before getting up to have a shower and get ready for the day. 

Once he had showered and had lunch he decided to tidy his house a little to kill time as he was cleaning he was imagining each area with a child in it, the kitchen with a highchair, and the lounge room filled with toys, he started to make a mental list of all the shops he wanted to go to after the appointment, shops that sold baby furniture as well as toy shops, he planned to get his child a toy the second he left the agency to commemorate their first meeting, it was something grace did every time she adopted one of them and they all had said toy still in their possession, Diego’s small yellow bear sat on his bedside table under his lamp, he would protect that possession with his life. 

As soon as Diego was finished tidying he checked the time and realized he had to leave if he wanted to make it in time for his appointment, so he grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone and locked the front door behind him, he got into his car and a wave of fresh new nerves hit him like a ton of bricks, he took a deep breath and started the car.

“Let's do this” he mumbled to himself and set off down the road towards the ‘Umbrella Kids’ adoption center. 

\----

Upon arriving Diego’s nerves still hadn’t fully settled but seeing the rainbow umbrella logo of the building kicked in Diego’s excitement, he had to stop himself from running to the entrance like a small child running into an ice cream parlor. He climbed up the front steps and opened the door, he spotted the reception desk and walked straight towards it.

“Um hi,” Diego said getting the young women's attention “I’m Diego Hargreeves, I have an appointment for 12 pm” 

She looked down at the computer in front of her and tapped away at the keyboard. 

“Diego Hargreeves you said?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Diego said.

There was more tapping at the keyboard before she looked up at him again.

“Okay, go ahead through those double doors over there,” she said pointing to a set of lemon-colored doors “that's the children's common area, if you would be so kind as to wait in there and Natalia will come to find you to take you through to the nursery, she’ll also answer any questions you might have” 

Overwhelmed Diego managed a quick nod to her and made his way towards the brightly colored doors, he pushed one of the doors open and the hinges creaked softly, upon opening the doors he entered a bright room filled with children's painting and toys as well as brightly colored furniture. He could also see through the large windows that there was also an outside section that had a playground and a sandbox, it reminded Diego a little of kindergarten. There were children filled in the room mostly toddlers and children that looked to be between the ages of 6 and 9, some had on what looked like school uniforms and the younger kids had on casual clothing. 

There were a few adults in the room, one was reading a picture book with a bunch of the smaller kids, another was helping some of the other kids paint and one was breaking up a fight over a toy truck. 

It suddenly felt so real to Diego, he was nervous and excited still so he counted that as a good thing, as he was looking around he spotted an older child sitting in the furthest corner from all the other kids on one of the two armchairs, he was in the same school uniform as the other older children, he had dark brown hair similar to Diego’s and he had his nose in a book. Something sparked inside Diego but he couldn’t put his finger on what. His brain felt like it was yelling at him to go and talk to the kid, so he did just that.

He slowly made his way over to the dark-haired boy, once he walked up to him he stood there expecting the boy to look up, but he didn't. 

“Is this seat taken?” Diego asked, pointing to the armchair across from the young boy.

“Clearly not,” the boy replied. 

Diego chuckled at the boy's snarky remark and sat down on the armchair, up close Diego could see the boy had these bright colored eyes he couldn’t tell if they were the lightest blue or the palest green, it's like they were a mixture of both. He looked down at the large book in the boy's hands.

“Aren’t you a little young to be reading Stephen King?” Diego asked.

The boy looked up at him and then back down to the book 

“Aren’t you a little old to be adopting a baby,” The boy replied snarkily.

Diego almost gasped when the boy looked at him, he felt the weirdest sensation in his chest. 

‘Was this the feeling that mom was talking about?’ Diego thought to himself, he didn't know but what he did know is that he didn't want to stop talking to this kid.

“How did you know I was here for the nursery?” Diego asked curiously.

The boy sighed like Diego was inconveniencing him at the highest level, he looked up from his book once more to look Diego in the eyes, giving Diego that feeling again.

“Well, you came in this room alone for one, if you were here for a toddler or a post toddler you’d have had papers in you hand to markdown favorites like they’re puppies in a dog shelter and you’d have Veronika up your ass showing you all the prize children” The boy explained like he had done it a million times. 

“Very observant” Diego admitted to the boy.

The boy rolled his eyes “Of course I am, what else is there to do here besides read and observe you idiots that waltz in here expecting this magical parenting experience” 

Before Diego could reply someone called out his name.

“Diego Hargreeves?” 

He turned his head to see who he assumed was Natalia, she wore brightly colored clothes with what looked like an apron covered in pink and blue teddy bears. Diego stood up but didn't walk away from the boy just yet, he turned to him and smiled.

“I’m Diego by the way,” Diego said to him “it was nice meeting you” 

“Mhmm, sure,” The boy said bringing the book up to his face once more. 

Diego couldn’t put his finger on why but he really liked that kid, even through all the snide comments he’d given him. 

He made his way over to the brightly dressed Natalia.

“Natalia?” He asked even though her name tag said just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a little disclaimer to the tiny percentage of people who might want to comment about this story not being authentic to adoption, two things real quick one this is based off of my own personal adoption experiences, and two its fanfic chill out things don't have to be accurate at all its not a novel I'm selling. anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter I'm hoping to get the next up by Monday hopefully? I kind of know where I'm headed in this story so let's hope my procrastination doesn't kill this like it did every other crappy fic I've written haha. hmu on Twitter or Tumblr if you want to be friends or to send in a five prompt?  
> Twitter: @aquaflowerbee  
> Tumblr: aqua-flower-bee


End file.
